Supplemental Poverty Measure

Since the publication of the first official poverty estimates in 1964, there has been continuing debate about the best approach for measuring poverty in the United States. Since 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau has published poverty estimates using the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). The SPM does not replace the official poverty measure (OPM) but serves as an additional indicator of economic well-being and provides a deeper understanding of economic conditions and policy effects. The SPM is based on the suggestions of an interagency technical working group.33

In contrast to the OPM, which compares pre-tax cash income to a set of thresholds first derived in the early 1960s, the SPM considers money income and non-cash benefits while subtracting necessary expenses such as taxes and work and medical expenses. SPM thresholds were derived by staff at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from Consumer Expenditure Survey data on basic necessities (food, shelter, clothing, and utilities) and are adjusted for geographic differences in the cost of housing.

Indicator ECON1.C: Percentage of children ages 0–17 living in poverty by race and Hispanic origin and type of poverty measure, 2021
Indicator ECON1.C: Percentage of children ages 0–17 living in poverty by race and Hispanic origin and type of poverty measure, 2021

NOTE: The term "White, non-Hispanic" is used to refer to people who reported being White and no other race and who are not Hispanic. The term "Black, non-Hispanic" is used to refer to people who reported being Black or African American and no other race and who are not Hispanic, and the term "Asian, non-Hispanic" is used to refer to people who reported only Asian as their race and who are not Hispanic. The use of single-race populations in this table does not imply that this is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. The U.S. Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches. From 1980 to 2002, following the 1977 U.S. Office of Management and Budget standards for collecting and presenting data on race, the Current Population Survey (CPS) asked respondents to choose one race from the following: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. An "Other" category was also offered. Beginning in 2003, the CPS allowed respondents to select one or more race categories. People who reported only one race are referred to as the race-alone population. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. The Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release (CBDRB-FY23-SEHSD003-024).

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

  • The SPM child poverty rate fell to 5.2% in 2021. This was the lowest SPM child poverty rate on record.
  • For all children, the 2021 SPM rate was 10.1 percentage points lower than the OPM rate of 15.3.34, 35
  • In 2021, the SPM rate was lower than the OPM rate for children of all race and Hispanic-origin groups.

table icon ECON1C HTML Table

33 For the latest report, see Creamer, J., Shrider, E., Burns, K., & Chen, F. (2022). Poverty in the United States: 2021 (U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P60-277). U.S. Government Publishing Office, Washington, DC. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2022/demo/p60-277.pdf.

34 Estimates include unrelated individuals under age 15.

35 Statistical comparisons between SPM and OPM estimates are at the 90 percent confidence level.